Fall Cleaning, Part 1

Alright, it's been awhile since I did a cleaning post, and now the change of seasons has prompted me to write again. There are so many things in a typical home that do not get cleaned or thought about on a regular basis...they may get lost in the hustle and bustle for many years before being noticed, at which point they are often disgustingly dirty and even unsanitary. These things, of course, are the things we specifically watch for at Coffee Street Inn. We are constantly getting positive feedback about how clean the guest rooms are. That said, here are a few things to check during your fall cleaning!

First-- get rid of some of the clutter. Is your filing cabinet so full you can't get new files in (or old ones out)? Box up your files by year, leaving only one past year and the current/coming year available to you in the cabinet. Next, go through all of your excess bedding. This is something I did recently here, and found a lot of old and unusable items. Easiest to throw were the pillows. Pillows should not be stained, and should be evenly stuffed if you plan to use them. Your hand should not be able to poke through easily! Many pillows in people's homes are too flat for use. Next, go through your extra sheet sets. Do you have a room you are currently using them for as an extra? Do they have strong patterns? Are they complete sets? If matching doesn't matter too much to you, don't worry about these things. However, my guests care about sheets matching! A few sets were missing a pillowcase, had stains I could not remove, and were heavily patterned but did not match any room comforters. Comforters and blankets can also be counted to determine their relevance....after all, you only need so many! Thrift stores are grateful to have your excess in this area, especially around this time of year.

Next-- toss out any of your potted plants that are not perennials. Chances are (especially if you live in the midwest!) that your plants have been brown and dead for a week or so, yet they are sill sitting or hanging in places of honor outside your house. I know they were expensive, but there's nothing you can do-- toss them in the trash or haul them to your local dump. The pots and dirt, however, may be useful for next season.

Finally--get down to business and bust that dust! Pull your microwave out from its usual place and thoroughly clean behind it...then clean inside your microwave. If you have an oven with a drawer underneath for holding pans, take that out completely. Wash inside of in, and be sure to clean the floor where the drawer rests. Dry food, dust, toys, and pet hair collect here very quickly! This is also not a bad time to run the self-clean on your oven. This usually takes a few hours and tends to heat up the house, so choose a cold day and turn off your house heat! Turning off the heat also gives you an excellent opportunity to change your furnace filter. If your furnace filter is hidden behind clouds of cobwebs and you have been reading this blog, you know what to do! Three more areas left to dust before we're finished with part one of this season's cleaning. Dust your ceiling fans! During the summer, the fans are spinning constantly and no one even looks up at them. When you turn them off, however, dust can be seen clinging to the top and sides of the blades. Next, dust all your lamps. Not only do the bases of each lamp get covered in dust, but so do the lightbulbs! Depending on the type of lampshade you have, that could also be washed or dusted. To finish, dust your blinds. This was a weekly chore on my task list as a child, and it seemed to take forever! (Thank you, large picture window at the front of my house). Then my dad would come home to inspect them... :S When cleaning the blinds, flip them downwards so that the curve of the blinds is facing you. Window treatments may be taken down and washed while you do this (yes, they get dusty too!!) Grab a microfiber cloth or any old dust cloth, some Lysol or dusting spray, and get to work.

Hopefully this helps you in some of your fall cleaning! Let me know how it goes, or feel free to share your own tips in response to this post. Ladies, make sure your hubby helps you with some of this! It's actually great for bonding (with you getting to check his work for thoroughness and all ;), and is a good example to the kids if you have them.